CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-15522

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Published: May 20, 2021 | Modified: Jul 17, 2025
CVSS 3.x
5.9
MEDIUM
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.x
4.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
5.9 MODERATE
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

Bouncy Castle BC Java before 1.66, BC C# .NET before 1.8.7, BC-FJA before 1.0.1.2, 1.0.2.1, and BC-FNA before 1.0.1.1 have a timing issue within the EC math library that can expose information about the private key when an attacker is able to observe timing information for the generation of multiple deterministic ECDSA signatures.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Bc-csharp Bouncycastle * 1.8.7 (excluding)
Bouncy_castle_fips_.net_api Bouncycastle * 1.0.1.1 (excluding)
Fips_java_api Bouncycastle * 1.0.1.2 (excluding)
Fips_java_api Bouncycastle 1.0.2 (including) 1.0.2.1 (excluding)
The_bouncy_castle_crypto_package_for_java Bouncycastle * 1.66 (excluding)
Red Hat EAP-XP 2.0.0 via EAP 7.3.x base RedHat bouncycastle *
Red Hat Fuse 7.10 RedHat bouncycastle *
Red Hat Fuse 7.8.1 RedHat *
RHINT Camel-K 1.6.4 RedHat bouncycastle *
RHINT Camel-Q 2.2.1 RedHat bouncycastle *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu bionic *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu focal *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu groovy *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu trusty *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu upstream *
Bouncycastle Ubuntu xenial *

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

  • Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
  • Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

References